To learn more about Ride 2 Recovery, visit its website at ride2recovery.com. Veterans interested in learning more about local rides, including Modesto rides leaving Fun Sport Bikes, 1700 McHenry Av...

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To learn more about Ride 2 Recovery, visit its website at ride2recovery.com. Veterans interested in learning more about local rides, including Modesto rides leaving Fun Sport Bikes, 1700 McHenry Ave., every Thursday at 11 a.m., should contact Shoneff at mhshoneff@yahoo.com. A weekly Tuesday ride for the Stockton area is in the planning stages.

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STOCKTON - "Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live," Mark Twain once said.

For Iraq War veteran Jose Jauregui of Stockton, given a second chance at life following a mortar attack on his tank in 2005 that left him with third-degree burns over more than half his body and a 3 percent chance of survival, getting on a bicycle has opened a new chapter.

It's a chapter of freedom, a chapter of normalcy for the extraordinary man whose world changed on that fateful day.

He's already ridden in two big challenge races, and he's participating in as many weekly rides as he can.

And it's all because of the help of other veterans.

Last summer, Jauregui, 28, met another Iraq War veteran from Stockton, Monica Hope Shoneff. Shoneff, who spent six years in the Army including 15 months in Baghdad, told him she was involved with a nationwide group called Ride 2 Recovery and saw he was interested.

Ride 2 Recovery was formed several years ago to improve the health and wellness of injured veterans by providing a life-changing experience and helping them overcome obstacles. Its focus is on cycling as a form of rehabilitation and recovery because it's an activity almost all veterans with mental and physical disabilities can participate in.

The group organizes programs and events and will design and build bikes adapted to meet the needs of injured veterans. Shoneff is the team leader for the Stockton and Modesto areas and is active in Ride 2 Recovery's Northern California chapter.

"I brought Jose along for his first challenge ride in August in Chicago. He has been really motivating and ready. He has great riding skills. It has been a real blessing having him out with us," Shoneff said of Jauregui.

In Chicago, Jauregui - preparing to ride 200 miles from the Windy City to Detroit in the Great Lakes Challenge - met David Lang with Ride 2 Recovery. The group has organized seven challenge events this year around the country.

"Due to his injuries, it's difficult for him to ride a regular upright bicycle, especially since this is his first time on a bike since childhood," Lang said. "With the help of our mechanic and our sponsor, we were able to modify a bike adapted to Jose's unique injuries and shipped it to him at his home in Stockton. With his new bike, Jose can add another option to his rehab process and venture further."

The bike is a black 21-speed Raleigh Revenio built from carbon fiber, which makes it extremely light. Its modifications include having only one brake lever that Jauregui can operate with the three remaining fingers on his right hand. With no fingers on his left hand, he shifts by pushing the buttons of an electronic gear control with his knuckles.

"I had never cycled on the road until I started this," said Jauregui, who admitted getting used to riding was "rough" at first. He now tries to get to as many weekly rides with Valley-area veterans as possible.

"They're pretty intense, pretty crazy. Now on this bike I can do everything on it. Now I just have to get in shape. It's been amazing."

What Jauregui likes best about his latest activity is "everybody who rides is a vet. It motivates me to push harder and finish everything. It's kind of like you're back in the service."

Jauregui's mentor is Jim Penseyres, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War who lost his left leg in 1968, received two Purple Hearts and went on to be inducted into the UltraCycling Hall of Fame.

In addition to Ride 2 Recovery's Great Lakes Challenge, Jauregui participated in the 425-mile California Challenge in October, riding from Palo Alto to Santa Monica along the coast with about 200 other wounded veterans.

"I think this riding will be a good way to get out and see stuff. Pebble Beach was awesome. I've lost a lot of weight," Jauregui said of his new experiences.

"There's a real sense of normalcy. I'm doing what everybody else is doing." Perhaps not everybody, since he recently clocked himself going 51 mph on a downhill section. "You definitely don't want to mess up going that fast."

For every experience, place and person that Jauregui comes across while out riding his new bike, he has absolutely no regrets. After all, he's still very much alive.

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/goldeenblog. Follow him on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.